Can't access repair my PC option via F8 startup

[NUTTER123 0]

Was wondering if anybody could help me with this 1. I've made a slight oopsie with a new system and want to restore to previous vista install. No biggie. According to the piece of paper I got in front of me it says that at startup I should be able to press F8 and see a menu called advanced options with a option to repair my PC but I can't see that option? I only see the safe mode, safe ode with command prompt and all of that. I'm pretty sure I have a vista restore partition infact I know as I saw it on there the other day. It's a zoostorm system. This 1 as it happens:

Edited November 8, 2010 by Tripredacus
removed link

[jaclaz 995]

NO.

F8 is a "windows internal" function.

To access a Recovery partition you are generally prompted before and key combo's like ALT+F10 are used.

In some cases you have to enter the BIOS to enable the Recovery partition.

The link you posted is not valid, please re-post it.

Post also EXACT make/model and possibly a link to the manufacturer site.

jaclaz

[Yzöwl 30]

Not that it makes any difference, but I think it must be one of the three here.

Edited November 8, 2010 by Tripredacus

[NUTTER123 0]

This should be the correct link?

www.greatuniversal.com/rf/gus/p.do?...&SNu=pca_id

The manufacturer's website is:

http://www.zoostorm.com (Be advised though it's not helpful as the site still says coming soon)

I'll expand a bit more. I wanted to restore my system back to default. I have a winRE section on my hard disk. The sheet of paper says clearly after the initial switch on (i.e. first screen) after that when it's saying boot from CD or whatever you should press F8 and you should have a list of options coming up on screen and top option should be "Repair my PC" But I don't have that. I can only see safe mode, safe mode with command prompt etc etc. I think I might have to use something called winPE or WAIK? but I looked up the instructions last night and it seems complicated. I managed to restore my system with a original vista home premium disk (which I found down the side of my bed) but it is genuine. Would save me a lot of trouble in future if I could get my option back.

Edited November 8, 2010 by Tripredacus

[Yzöwl 30]

Looking around the net it appears that you're not the only one having this problem, many customers appear to not have the menu options as you describe. Have you even got a Windows Vista/Recovery DVD?

You will need to contact Zoostorm, but your first port of call should be Great Universal, who will very likely provide you with a direct Zoostorm contact number etc.

[NUTTER123 0]

I've got a Vista DVD. Home premium (even if it's pre service pack 1) There's a number for zoostorm on the universal website so I'll give them a call on monday and take it from there. Don't get me wrong the system's great so far but the option for easy recovery in the future would be brilliant and a lot less time consuming.

[jaclaz 995]

It is very possible that zoomstorm uses a "proprietary" MBR, like the ones discussed here:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...108515&st=0

from what you write it seems like the system is the same as used on Dell's and poossibly what's in the thread may help you.

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...08515&st=40

It is also possible that in the past some utility, like Partition Magic, MBRFIX, MBRWIZ, or any of the other ones has been (inadvertedly? ) run and the "proprietary" MBR has been replaced by a "standard" one.

Each manufacturer/OEM has his own ways to manage the Recovery Partition, some have a tweaked BIOS, some use encrypted files or proprietary formats....it's a mess.

If you already re-installed from a "normal" Vista CD/DVD and you repartitioned/reformatted, it is possible that the "proprietary" MBR is gone for good, and your only way out is the manufacturer, or is it possible that they used MS tools only and using the tools mentioned in the given post you can re-create the "good" MBR.

jaclaz

[NUTTER123 0]

I'm downloading the WAIK image file as I speak. (still 2 hours to go) and I'll definety look at they threads in a bit. Just to add too I didn't do a full reformat (booted into my hard disk via ERD 2008 and deleted certain folders) I reinstalled after that though. Never reaprtitioned or anything like that.

Edited January 17, 2009 by NUTTER123

[NUTTER123 0]

OK thanks to your links and following instructions on that site jackz I've got the option to repair my computer again via F8 startup (not sure if I should have used a SP1 image as the recovery is all SP1 and I have a home premium DVD without SP1) Now when I type recover though I get recover filename path I think it was. As far as I know my winRE partition is E drive.

[NUTTER123 0]

Thanks to Dell. I've fixed my problem by myself.

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/1900...9.aspx#19126869

I read the imagex part and in the end I went into the command prompt via the windows DVD and altered that line to my image in my e folder. I'm now restoring my system to as it was when I started wednesday. I am a happy bunny.

[jaclaz 995]

GOOD.

Happy bunnies:

are much better than a depressed one :

jaclaz

Edited May 23, 2012 by jaclaz

[NUTTER123 0]

GOOD.

Happy bunnies:

are much better than a depressed one :

jaclaz

LOL. So true. The only prob i've got now well I reformatted my HD for a start but due to E: being hidden that's obviously safe and was untouched. The repair my PC option now just boots me into windows normally without giving me access to the possible recovery option but still I've worked out how to as I said get it up and running. Not totally 100% but at least I have the knowledge to restart totally if I'm ever stuck in the future.

[jengitsme 0]

Very happy Bunny now!!!

HD, repaired!!!

Thanks Jaclaz!

[afrin 0]

My not so happy bunny, my drive is still dead

Will try again !

[Schiiwa 0]

I have a relatedproblems and i´m still a sad bunny ^^

I read so much "blah blah FixMBR blah blah FDISK /MBR blah blah". I know these Commands but they just reset the MBR to default. So i decided to write to a dignified forum with professional bunnies, even thou i am not that professional!

Problem 1: FSC-Fault!?

I have here a fujitsu siemens Laptop with a Recovery-Partition (look the attachments).

Testdisk says "Bad relative sector". When i scanned with WinHEX, there was a massage about a sektor at the end, which don´t exist! I think there is a error in the Partition-Table, but don´t know how to fix, because there is a eisa-konfiguration, which is not that clear for me. I think siemens didn´t a good job here, because when two working-partitions "C: System" and "D: Data" were nearly full, the system freezed. I could indentify the file, which freezed the system when i wanted to chance anything at this file (eg. deleting it). BTW it was a MP3-File with 10 MB. I think the system had tried to access to the Sector, which doesn´t exist. So that is the first problem!!! But i don´t want to destroy more. I had evoked one problem yet, thats enough. This Problem will follow as "Problem 2: My Fault"

So far the recovery went fine apart from the fact, that it was not passible to install servicepack1 after restoring. As i explored the laptop the first tim about a month ago, there was no SP installed. The problem is an out-of-date-windows-image from the Recovery-Partition (from 2006)! When the ServicePack1-installation was completed, the system still booted, but wasn´t to use, because of RAM-problems. Maybe i should updated it before installing SP1 ... But not sure. Before installing SP1, i removed MSWORX, NORTON I-NET-SEC, ACRBBAT READER AND FSC-Tool for diagnostics. The behavour after that where strange too.

So i decidet to Install from a SP2-Integrated DVD.

Problem 2: My Fault:

Now, the Recovery option "COMPUTER REPARIEREN (repair computer) isn´t available after re-pressing F8 @ boot process. I thought, WINDOWS VISTA wouldn´t overwrite an well-oiled MBR, but it did didn´t it? I should have backuped the MBR!

I read something about BCDEDIT, but i don´t have the heart to do anything more, because i had a lot of work (recovering the SYSTEM about 4 times, scanning the HDD about 20 hours, installing programms and so on). Now i have a well-working vista on it, and don´t want to destroy that!

---> Is there an easy whay to add the "Repair Computer"-option to the F8-Menü, which boot´s the WinRE partition? If yes, please Step-by-Step

I think it works with BCDEDIT, but how!

Additional Information:

I grew up with DOS, then came win95, which is based on DOS. There the boot-up is simple (works or don´t works) and the boot menu was in Config.sys and Autoexec.bat But now, with windows Vista, which is preinstalled on this laptop, its a little bit more complex. I am really interessted in understanding the boot-process. the followings things i THINK TO KNOW:

- @Windows XP there is alittle partition about 8 MB which is nessecary for booting

- @Windows XP NTLDR is the boot-loader. This file is placed at the first sector

- The MBR contains the partitiontable, the boot-loader and some unimortant things like signatures and is 512 bytes (the first sector)!

- @Vista the BOOTMGR is the boot-loader. This file is placed at the first sector! But Windows says, that it is about 333,xxx bytes

The Scan with WinHex didn´t finished. I scanned before I RECOVERED the SYSTEM (The System was really jam-packed with lot of unused trash like AOL, T-ONLINE, OPEN OFFICE besides MS WORKS and MS OFFICE and much more), but after about an or two hours it froze, even though i booted the Windows XPE from CD. I will try it again, now i have a really nice-running windows vista, which is up-to-date.

The Hardware is OK. The RAM is testet overnight with zero errors.

The FSC_OTS and WINRE partition are untouched. The red-marked file at the bottom in the picture "Fat32 FSC_OTS-Partition Few Files2nd.jpg" is not deleted by me (I guess red-marked means DELETED, not sure). But this red entry was there from the beginning and recovery went well anyway!

The first PIC says, that the boot-partition is "C: SYSTEM" the second says "WINRE" marked with the *. Isn´t testdisk compatible with vista? I can remember, that it asked me to search for partitions created by vista, but now, testdisk doesn´t prompt that I will compare the Partition-Table with Winhex´s Part-Table ^^

See you later bunnies